Indira Gandhi Award for Rahman

Oscar winner AR Rahman and Ramkrishna Mission Ashram in Narainpur, Chhattisgarh have been chosen for the 25th Indira Gandhi Award National Integration for 2009 for promoting and preserving national integration in the country.

Oscar winner AR Rahman and Ramkrishna Mission Ashram in Narainpur, Chhattisgarh have been chosen for the 25th Indira Gandhi Award National Integration for 2009 for promoting and preserving national integration in the country.

This year the award includes a citation and cash of R 2.5 lakh each. Congress president Sonia Gandhi will present the award to both the winners on October 31, the death anniversary of Indira Gandhi.

Prominent among those who have received the award in the past include Rajiv Gandhi (posthumously), late Punjab CM Beant Singh, former presidents APJ Abdul Kalam and Shankar Dayal Sharma, film-maker Shyam Bengal, lyricist Javed Akhtar and writer Mahashweta Devi.

A number of institutions like Paramdham Ashram, Wardha, Ram-Rahim Nagar Slum Dwellers Association, Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust and Gandhi Institute of Public Affairs also received the award.

The Congress had instituted the award in its centenary year to recognise outstanding contribution to the cause of national integration, understanding by individuals and institutions.